5-day Beijing Hutong Winter Leisure Tour

Destinations:
Tour Highlights:Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Qianmen Dajie and the Temple of Heaven, Beijing Roast Duck dinner, Mutianyu great wall, Summer palace, Beijing Hutongs

Overview: 5-day Beijing winter leisure tour to see snow-covered landscape of Badaling Great Wall, Ski in Nanshan Ski Village, Richshaw Rideing at Beijing Hutongs, Houhai Lake Skating and more winter experience in Beijing ...

Day By Day

Day 1 Arrive in Beijing
Meet your travel guide at Beijing Capital International Airport. Then transferred to your hotel in Beijing downtonw. Free for the rest of the day.


Day 2 Beijing
Meals: B, L
Places to visit: Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City
Beijing After breakfast at your hotel, start your tour with the visit to Tiananmen Square （40 minutes), the largest public square in the world. Located in the heart of Beijing City, it is the site for massive parades and rallies, which is the largest square of this kind in the world. This was the site when in 1949, from a rostrum on Tiananmen (the Gate of Heavenly Peace), Chairman Mao proclaimed the establishment of the People's Republic of China.

Then move on to the Forbidden City (2 hours), the Chinese imperial palace from the mid-Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty. For almost 500 years, it served as the seat-bed of the Emperors in Ming and Qing Dynasties as well as the ceremonial and political centre of Chinese government.

After lunch , continue to the Temple of Heaven （1.5 hours), the place where the emperors of Ming and Qing Dynasties worshiped heaven and prayed for peace and harvest. It was first constructed in 1420, the 18th year of the reign of Ming emperor Yongle.



Day 3 Beijing
Meals: B, L
Places to visit: Badaling Great Wall, Nanshan Ski Resort 
Beijing Half day excursion to the Badaling Great Wall, the most strong and magnificent section of the all 5 sections of the Great Wall in Beijing. The hike takes about 2 hours. Most passengers prefer to hike the northern slope of Badaling Great Wall simple because the north part is more scenic and convenient with cable car and slide services in between. Cable car and slides are optional.

After lunch, then head to drive to Beijing Nanshan Ski Resort (ski 2-4 hours). Also known as Nanshan Ski Village, Nanshan Ski Resort sits in Miyun County, about 80km in the northeast of Beijing. Nanshan Ski Resort boasts one of the largest and most beautiful ski resorts around Beijing.

 

Day 4 Beijing
Meals: B, L
Places to visit: Beijing Hutongs, Yandai Xiejie, Houhai Lake
After breakfast, transfer to see the Beijing Hutongs (by a rickshaw) and also pay a visit to a local family who live in the traditional Beijing courtyard dwelling.

After lunch, walk south to Dianmenwai Dajie ( north of Drum Tower), turning onto Yandai Xiejie (Tobacco Pipe Lean Street ), a quaint 800-year-old hutong located directly north of Yinding Bridge between Qianhai Lake and Houhai Lake, used to be well-known for sellers of long-stemmed pipes, hence the name. Standing on the Silver Ingot Bridge ( Yinding Bridge ), a narrow channel joining Qianhai Lake and the Houhai Lake, the hub of Shichai area with surrounding quiet hutongs.


Finally have some fun skating or sliding around in improvised ice-chairs and ice-bicycles at Shichahai Skating Rink (popularly know as Houhai Skating Rink). Shichahai Lake is one of favorite outdoor ice skating rinks for many local skaters. Shichahai Lake is composed of three connected lakes, namely Qianhai Lake ( fronk lake), Houhai Lake (back lake) and Xihai Lake ( West Lake). Now only Qianhai lake is open to ice skaters close to the lotus market and public bar area along the lake. The fees for Skating activities at Shichahai Skating Rink are not included. After skating at the rink, you are transferred back to your downtown hotel in Beijing.



Day 5 Beijing Departure
Meals: B
Places to visit: Summer Palace, Bird's Nest and Water Cube
Beijing Exit or free on your own After breakfast, start your morning tour with the visit to the Summer Palace (2 hours), originally a royal garden and a temporary dwelling palace for emperors of Qing Dynasty. It is an imperial garden most completely reserved with richest landscapes and concentrated buildings. The Summer Palace was added to the world cultural heritage list in 1998.

Head to the Olympic Green to have an outside look at the Bird's Nest and Water Cube (half hour). After lunch, transfer to airport for departure or free activity on your own. The stadium hosted the main track and field Football, and final competitions for the 2008 Summer Olympics, as well as the opening and closing ceremonies. Then transfer to airport for departure or free activity on your own.

Price Includes:

Transportation & Private Transfers:

Transportation cost covers all the domestic airfare of economy class with airport tax, train tickets between the cities as the itinerary specified.


Transfer between airports, railway station, hotels and scenic spots for sightseeing around the cities that are specified by the itinerary with private air conditioned vehicle with driver and English-speaking guide. Separate arrivals and departures will incur extra charges.


Entrance Fees:

All entrance fees to the scenic spots listed in the itinerary. The final arrangement will be determined by private tour guides depends on the real-time local circumstances wheather are beyond the control of Access China Travel. We will adhere to the original itinerary as accurately as possible.


Normal Meals:

All normal meals as the itinerary specified: B = breakfast, L = Lunch, D = dinner in local restaurant. Breakfasts are served in hotel, breakfasts have Chinese or Western style for your option; Lunches are served in carefully selected quality local Chinese restaurants with best service, your lunches will be ordered by your guide catering to your preferences within normal standard. Dinners as the itinerary specified will be also served in local Chinese restaurants. The meal quotation is normalized. If you have any special request about meals, like vegetarian, famous rare dishes, Indian food or more, please inform us in advance. For the unspecified dinners, you will have dinner on your own. Feel free to ask your local guide for suggestions or recommendation.


Private Sightseeing Escort:

Normal sightseeing activities as the itinerary listed will be escorted with English-speaking guide. The English-speaking guide and driver in each city are with you throughout the entire itinerary around that city. They do not fly with you from one city to another.


Hotel Accommodation:

Hotel service criterion: two adults share on one standard twin/double-bed room; solo traveler who want to occupy one twin/double-bed room assigned is required for extra single supplement rate. A single room is available on prior request at an additional cost; if a recommended hotel unavailable, it will be replaced by one of the same class. All hotels as the itinerary listed serve daily western or Chinese breakfast. All rooms are air-conditioned with private facilities unless specified.


Tour Arrangements:

The tour cost includes the planning, handling, booking, operation and communication charges.

Service Charge & Government Taxes

Price Excludes:

International airfare or train tickets for entry or exit China, unless that is noted or required otherwise.

Visa Fees, passport application or renewal fee.

Excess Baggage Charges.
Personal Expenses:
Expenses of a purely personal nature such as excess luggage fees, laundry, drinks, fax, telephone call, optional activities (shows) and meals, beverages...

Meals:
Any meal are not specified in the itinerary with "B", "L" or "D".
Any extra cost caused by the changes of natural disasters, fires, weather, government and local authority orders, politics, strikes, war, riots, quarantine, custom regulations; as well as tourist law violation, accident damages or injury incurred out of Access China Travel control.

Gratuities:
Tips to guides, escort, drivers bellman, etc.